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Person1079 – 1122

King Yejong

Sixteenth king of Goryeo, who sent Yun Gwan to build the Nine Forts and revived state schooling

In 1107 he sent Yun Gwan with the Byeolmuban against the Jurchen and built the Nine Forts in the northeast, but returned them in 1109 because the Jurchen kept demanding them and they were hard to hold. To revive state education overshadowed by private academies, he set up seven specialised courses at the national academy, founded the Yanghyeongo scholarship fund and established the Cheongyeongak and Bomungak in the palace to promote learning. He also set up the Hyeminguk and Gujedogam to care for the sick and needy.

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4 related events

  1. 1
    AD 963 – 1112Goryeo Relief Policies and Institutionsmonarch

    Goryeo lent grain and steadied grain prices through the Uichang and Sangpyeongchang, and aided the poor and sick through the Jewibo, the East and West Daebiwon and the Hyeminguk.

  2. 2
    1055Choe Chung’s Academy and the Rise of Private Schoolsrelated figure

    When the retired chief minister Choe Chung opened his Nine-Course Academy, twelve private schools flourished; as state schools declined, later kings revived them.

  3. 3
    1107 – 1109Yun Gwan’s Jurchen Campaign and the Nine Fortsmonarch

    Yun Gwan led 170,000 men of the Byeolmuban against the Jurchens and built nine forts in the northeast, but they were handed back after little more than a year.

  4. 4
    1110Daoism in Goryeo — Chojae Rites and the Bogwongungmonarch

    Goryeo often held chojae, Daoist rites praying to heaven and the stars for blessings, and King Yejong built the Daoist temple Bogwongung.

People who appear alongside

  • King GwangjongAD 925 – AD 975

    Fourth king of Goryeo, who strengthened royal power with the Slave Review Act, the civil service examination and imperial titles

  • King SeongjongAD 960 – AD 997

    Sixth king of Goryeo, who adopted Choe Seung-ro’s 28-article memorial and built a Confucian central and local administration

  • Choe ChungAD 984 – 1068

    Chief minister turned teacher whose Nine-Course Academy led the private schools; called the "Confucius of the East"

  • King Munjong1019 – 1083

    Eleventh king of Goryeo, whose reign marked the height of the dynasty; father of Uicheon

  • Yun Gwan1111

    General who created the Byeolmuban army and built the Nine Forts after defeating the Jurchens

Themes this person appears in

  • Song, Ming and Samurai JapanAD 960 – 1500

    The age when the civil-minded Song bought peace from Liao, Western Xia and Jin while the lower Yangtze boomed and Neo-Confucianism took shape, and the Ming, having driven out the Yuan, rebuilt the East Asian order through imperial autocracy, the sea ban and tribute — as Japan passed through the Kamakura and Muromachi warrior governments into the Warring States era, and Korea from Goryeo to Joseon

  • Educational Institutions Through the AgesAD 372 – 1943

    From the Taehak and Gukhak to the Gukjagam and Seonggyungwan, modern schools and the colonial education ordinances — state schools that trained officials and the private schools that filled the gaps

  • GaeseongAD 901 – 2003

    From Wang Geon, lord of Songak, to the Kaesong Industrial Complex — Gaegyeong, Goryeo’s capital for five centuries, and home of the Song merchants